Ruling revives Alameda County GOP infighting lawsuit

The Oakland Tribune / insidebayarea.com ^ | Posted: 09/08/2009 03:45:45 PM PDT, Updated: 09/08/2009 05:07:52 PM PDT | By Josh Richman, Oakland Tribune

[thecodont]

The California Court of Appeal have revived a lawsuit filed by a member of the Alameda County Republican Central Committee, challenging last year's election to that committee of a slate of Ron Paul supporters.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch had tossed the case in November, ruling that committeeman Paul Cummings Jr., of Oakland, hadn't filed it within the five-day period required after a primary election. The election was held June 3, 2008; the results were certified July 8, 2008; and Cummings filed his challenge July 25, 2008.

Cummings argued that the June 2008 vote wasn't a primary, as there's only one election for party committee posts, and the California Republican Party filed a friend-of-the-court brief on his behalf. The appeals court agreed in an opinion issued Friday, finding "that an election of party central committee members is not a primary election, and is governed by a 30-day limit to file a contest."

The appeals court remanded the case to Roesch's court for trial, where Cummings can pursue his claim that Vice Chairman Walter Stanley III, of Livermore, and six other "Constitutional Republicans" were ineligible for election to the committee because they hadn't been affiliated with the Republican Party for at least three months before their candidacy filing dates, and/or because they'd belonged to other parties within a year before filing, in violation of the state Elections Code.

[thecodont]

From the article:

The appeals court also rejected the defendants' arguments that Cummings lacked legal standing to file the challenge; that the courts lack jurisdiction to police party committee elections; and that Cummings couldn't sue because he didn't challenge the candidates' eligibility before the election.